


vibrance

by calibriluu



Category: Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - Malloy
Genre: Art, Cats, F/F, Fluff, how does one tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 08:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13520463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calibriluu/pseuds/calibriluu
Summary: Sonya loves many things. Cats, life and Mary. To her, they all mean the same thing.





	vibrance

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to try a no-dialogue thing, enjoy! Unedited because I'm a lazy arsehole.

It's a very quiet evening, and tonight Sonya can rest easily. As easy as one can when having 4 cats to tend to.

Thomas, the youngest one, is sitting perfectly still on a wooden stool that Mary uses for subjects and painting on easels. 

Saffron never stays in one place for more than 5 seconds, although when they do, none of them want to bother him.

Croix is very similar to Saffron, except she's more poised and calm about seeing the leaves blow or a squirrel running along the ground. Saffron is a carefree being with no worries about how much the world really sucks. 

And the last one, Tiger, doesn't stay around long enough. Sort of like Saffron, except with a more wild cat in them. They're more of an alley cat by night and cuddling with Croix by day.

As much as she loves her odd little family, Mary doesn't think the two of them are ready for another cat. Sonya is persistent in her begging for more kitties despite knowing their workload probably can't handle it. We'll get another one someday, she assures Sonya. She too wants another cat. It's probably rubbed off on her.

Sonya watches from the couch as Mary smears the charcoal across the paper. Her fingers are smudged and she's careful to avoid too many marks on the page. From her view, Sonya knows that this particular commission will be one of her favorites.

She wonders how in the world she ended up in love with the sweet, dedicated artist. At first glance, there's nothing too special about her other than the scar Tiger gave her sometime ago on her cheek and the small duffel bag Mary carries almost everywhere.

If you looked closer, you could also see a few graphite stains on her fingers and the way she would hold an optimistic air around her. 

And inside that special duffel bag was an assortment of sketchbooks, pencils, pens, and everything any artist would dream of. The sketchbooks are doodled with ideas, sometimes written ones and sometimes highly detailed masterpieces. It's a precious thing, an example of why Sonya still has faith in humanity.

She spots Saffron's grey and white fur sliding along the windowsill where Mary left a finished watercolor to dry. He tiptoes around it, for even he knows that it is a thing not to be tampered with. Sonya thinks it's a mermaid but she can't quite tell from here. 

Her attention shifts back to Mary, who is concentrating on the frozen cat. Thomas tends to be extremely attentive and is considered by Mary her best live subject she's ever had. Not that Sonya would object because she herself had began whining at how utterly boring it was and all she wanted to do was kiss Mary all over her face at the moment. Maybe shock her back into reality.

She wants to come over and peek over Mary's shoulder, but it's never wise to bother a working artist. Disastrous consequences will occur, like sleeping on the couch for the night. Or not eating popcorn with them or the cats. Sonya swore to never bother her, and has so far kept that promise. She knows she'll be able to see it later, like with all of Mary's other art projects.

Croix pokes her head against her waist, which translated into a need for affection in cat language. Usually. Sonya lifted her hand and softly scratched her hand through the massive tuft of fur on her head. It had a smooth lilac coloration to while the rest of her body was lighter save for the back and tail.

Sonya would never admit it, but Croix is her favorite. She had actually been rescued from an animal lab, which horrified Sonya when she learned about the ways they would experiment on animals. Sonya still recalled the day she went inside the shelter, found the scarred cat, and immediately fell in love with her. Well, close enough to love. 

Tiger was found under a highway, basically starving as a kitten. It had been about two years since finding the tiny, striped cat mewing in next to a concrete pillar. Sonya decided to divulge the story to Mary about how  exactly she was in such a situation but they loved Tiger none the less. Mary had actually mentioned something about perhaps being partially Bengal given the markings, but was never confirmed. Nevertheless, they remained the independent fierce cat as the name suggested. 

Thomas and Saffron are from the same litter, appearing almost exactly alike except Saffron had white paws. Both are Burmese, with opposite personalities. And very attached to Mary.

The good thing about today is that she went home early, national holiday she forgot about. So it wasn't really night time and the sun was still pouring in through the windows. A rack of paint bottles were neatly aligned beneath the windowsill that Saffron normally traversed upon.

There was a scratching noise outside, which meant that Tiger was back. A little early was well. The sound didn't distract Mary from her sketch and Sonya quietly opened the door for the cat. Tiger hissed at Sonya and started gnawing on one the potted plants to no avail because it was a bonsai tree.    

Sonya chuckled at the cat's strange antiques as they ambled onto the same couch Sonya was sitting and curled up next to Croix. They would probably go out during the night again and do whatever shady things alley cats did under the cover of darkness.

Eventually, Sonya fell asleep on the couch along with Croix and Tiger. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the serene sight of Mary hunched over her chair and her messy hair falling out of her 'concentration' bun.

It seemed as if only seconds passed by before someone nudged her awake. Sonya was greeted by a smiling face and when she turned to her side, Tiger had gone already.

Mary pulled her off the couch and guided her sleepy love to the finished sketch. Her eyes snapped open when she gazed at the sheet, Sonya's mind trying to process how detailed the fur stood and the not-so-astonishing accuracy the figure had to Thomas. It was only in monochrome, but Sonya could see the life in the cat's body and even the subtle shadows to reflect the lighting. The whiskers glowed with the shadows and even the smudged parts looked perfect. For some reason, Mary almost never drew the cats and only had one little acrylic of Tiger sleeping framed on the kitchen counter.

It was a simple still life, yet Sonya loved it. She love art the way she loved her cats, the way she loved life. Thomas remained oblivious to the fact that his portrait was one of Sonya's favorites.

And who could forget the glowing eye? Mary had somehow incorporated a tiny bit of sky blue ink onto the left eye, giving it more depth and adding a color to the charcoal. It was best part, Sonya had decided. She tackled Mary into a bear-hug, pecking a kiss on her neck as Mary giggled at the compliments she whispered into her ear.

Sonya never knew how vibrant her life could be until she found the masterpiece that was Mary.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed some weird self-indulgence ;O. ( also did anyone catch the subtle Warrior Cats reference here )


End file.
